Thursday, November 06, 2008

ZPD: It's only fair to hate haters. Being a sheep gets you dragged to camps to die. We all learnt that lesson.

FIGHT

THE

HATE!

I approve of non-violent protest when authority wants to identify you as the “other.” The voters who voted with the Mormon & other ‘fundie’ hatemongers were tricked. Time to drag them into the 21st century.

A shot of police headed to the protest around Wilshire and Westwood. Via NBC: "At about 4 p.m., officers closed Wilshire and Westwood boulevards. The march terminated near the intersection, jamming traffic in all directions." It's not clear what's open now, but the LA Times(below) is listing some street closures.

Majority Rule won't work when you're telling kids of Gays they're not as good as other kids.Some Mormon bloodied Jaime Meriwether's nose above earlier.Mormon showing the flag's supposed support of hate confronts protester. Classy.

Hundreds of people protesting on the Westside over the passage of Prop. 8 are causing gridlock in a part of L.A. already famous for bad traffic.

The Times' Tami Abdollah reports that the gridlock is gripping streets around the Westside. She said it took her a half-hour to go a mile. She said most major streets -- including Sepulveda Boulevard, Barrington Avenue and Olympic Boulevard -- are jammed. Side streets around the area are also clogged with cars. There is major congestion through Beverly Hills as well.

Details:

-Portions of Santa Monica Boulevard are closed between Beverly Glen and Westwood boulevards.

-Portions of Westwood Boulevard are also closed north of Santa Monica Boulevard.

-Portions of Ohio Avenue are closed east of Westwood Boulevard.

-The closures have caused major congestion on Wilshire Boulevard, a part of which was closed.

If Jacob Whipple gets what he's hoping for, at least 1,000 Utahans will turn out Friday night to protest the involvement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in helping pass Proposition 8, a California ballot measure that effectively killed, at least for now, same-sex marriages in that state.

The call for people to gather at 6 p.m. at North Temple and State Street in Salt Lake City is to show solidarity with those protesting in California, Whipple explained. Among those hitting the streets were about 3,000 who gathered Thursday afternoon outside the LDS Temple in Westwood, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, bearing signs including one featuring a photo of a gay couple with the words,"Why is this joy and love so scary," The Los Angeles Times reported.=Protest planned=A protest against LDS Church support for California's Proposition 8 is scheduled for Friday, 6 p.m., at North Temple and State Street in Salt Lake City.

"We want to show we share their pain, and here, at the heart of the church, we want to stab it," said Whipple, of Salt Lake City.

The 29-year-old former LDS Church member, who served a mission in Argentina, was helping to get the word out late Thursday about the Utah protest. He said he and others were seeking support through e-mails, text messages, social networking Web pages and old-fashioned phone calls.

Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Utah Pride Center, said her organization would "absolutely" be there to stand with others.

"We want to show we share their pain, and here, at the heart of the church, we want to stab it," said Whipple, of Salt Lake City.

The 29-year-old former LDS Church member, who served a mission in Argentina, was helping to get the word out late Thursday about the Utah protest. He said he and others were seeking support through e-mails, text messages, social networking Web pages and old-fashioned phone calls.

Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Utah Pride Center, said her organization would "absolutely" be there to stand with others.

"Millions in California, including our friends and families, stood up and voted for equalitywhile the LDS Church stood for discrimination," she said. "Friday's message will be one of hope for steady progress towards equality and fairness - a message everyone can believe in."

The LDS Church got into the thick of the California battle when officials issued statements encouraging members to actively support the ban. All told, Latter-day Saints are estimated to have given, by some counts, as much as $22 million to the effort.

But while many rallied for the cause, other church members have stepped up in protest. The hot issue has created rifts in ward houses and after the initiative passed, a church leader Wednesday called on members to treat one another with "civility, with respect and with love."

Whipple, who is engaged to Drew Cloud, 24, of Orange County, Calif., said the two men - who had planned to marry on April 11, 2009 - will go ahead with their ceremony and celebration, "whether it's recognized or not."

And it's for this reason that he will join the others in circling Temple Square, the international spiritual hub of the LDS Church, as well as the headquarters office building. It'll be part of the journey the returned missionary began when he left LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University after two years of study.

"I gave up on trying to pretend to be straight and started to live my life."

LDS Church officials react to California temple protest

According to a written statement: "The Church acknowledges that such an emotionally charged issue concerning the most personal and cherished aspects of life family and marriage stirs fervent and deep feelings. The Church calls on those involved in the debate over same sex marriage to act in the spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, intimidated, harassed or subject to erroneous information."